He's not scoring as freely as he'd like, but Yamal turns pressure into points

Lamine Yamal sensed an opportunity, taking off toward Lucas Digne as the France defender was trying to clear a ball he had just headed awkwardly in his own penalty area.

Digne didn't even see Yamal coming when he raised a leg for a clearing kick. His foot crashed into the Spain forward's thigh, and the penalty call that followed put La Roja in a position to take the lead.

Yamal has scored only one goal on Spain's run to the World Cup final, ensured by a 2-0 victory over France in the semifinals on Tuesday.

Coach Luis de la Fuente, when he was asked about the teen sensation the day before the match, on the Barcelona star's 19th birthday, tried to say there were other things besides scoring.

And, on Tuesday, Yamal offered his coach a perfect example of that.

His heady play had led to the penalty kick, but Mikel Oyarzabal was the choice to take it.

Yamal, who didn't talk to reporters after the match, still doesn't have an assist to go with his only goal, but, without him, Spain wouldn't have had a halftime lead against a France team that many considered to be the favorite to win its third world title.

As young as he is, Yamal has the perspective to understand that scoring isn't all that matters, even though, with 16 goals, he shared the Barcelona top-scorer mantle last season with Spain teammate Ferran Torres.

"Everyone has the same direction, the same idea, being aware of what is important," Oyarzabal said. "In the end, you try to put what everyone has, what everyone can give to the team, to the service of the team."

"I think that, in the end, I play as I am, and I will never play better than I am or worse than I really am," Yamal said on Monday.

"So, I always give the maximum ...and when that's what people ask you to do, you don't feel pressure."

Instead, Yamal was the one who applied the pressure, in a key moment, and La Roja is moving on to the final as a result.

AP